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Devin Murtha
Mr. Rogers
23 October 15
Period 5
Mock Congress Research Paper
The future of our planets livability is in great jeopardy due to the consistent rise in
climate globally. This global warming issue is not only an issue in the United States; this is an
issue that all countries must acknowledge. Each country must take its own steps towards saving
our planet, reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions we allow to enter our O-Zone
Layer. Global warming has had and will continue to have terrible effects on weather patterns
around the world, such as rapidly rising sea levels, droughts, floods, abnormal storms, and heat
waves. The world has witnessed drastic changes over the last few decades and we must take the
necessary steps to prevent the worsening of the holes in the ozone layer. Action must be taken
now to ensure that our future generations will be able to live in a world with a good quality of
life. It is nearly impossible to overstate the threat of rapid climate change. Greenhouse gas
emissions are rising more rapidly than predicted; consequently, the world is warming more
quickly. In order to attempt to fix the damage that has already been done, the Global Warming
Act will fund and put into action a program that removes carbon dioxide from our Atmosphere as
well as mandate that automobiles be made to use cellulosic biofuels; gas companies must also
open their fuel industry to include making the cellulosic biofuel to ensure that it is available to
everyone. There are many arguments surrounding the topic of climate change and whether the
weather patterns are changing from natural fluctuations between warmer and cooler periods, or if
they are from a bigger issue from possibly irreparable damage to our atmosphere. However,

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climate change is evident and many scientists have spoken on the importance of acting to save
our planet now and the global impact it will have.
Our planet has changed a lot in the past twenty years and not for the better. Since 1995,
our oceans have risen three inches due to Antarctica and Greenland losing over 4.9 trillion tons
of ice. It is no coincidence that our polar bears were the first vertebrate species to be categorized
by the U.S. Endangered Species Act as being threatened by extinction predominantly due to
global warming (National Wildlife Federation). Global warming has had such a negative
impact on the polar bears because the arctic ice is crucial to their survival. Polar bears have
evolved to live on sea ice, which they use to reach their seal prey (Polar Bears International).
With the loss of the arctic sea ice, they do not have the ability to venture out further for food;
consequently, they are slowly starving due to an inability to gather food for themselves and their
offspring. While the impact global warming has had on polar bears in significant, they are not
the only threatened wild life; therefore, we need to make changes before it is too late.
As a nation, we need to put forth the necessary effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
we must simultaneously begin to adapt to the increasing impacts of climate change. The most
important aspect of the Global Warming Act is its offer of funding a project that will create a
product that will absorb carbon dioxide out of our air, essentially reversing the damage we have
already done to our ozone layer. This product is a brush-like material that gives off carbon
dioxide when it is wet; however, once it dries it sucks carbon dioxide out of the air well beyond
the amount it had emitted. The product is referred to as Synthetic Trees because they absorb as
much carbon dioxide in a single day that a tree does in its lifetime. These synthetic trees can be
used to absorb carbon dioxide anywhere on the planet; this means that carbon emissions can be
captured from almost all large-emitting sources, from stationary factories to automobiles, power

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plants, as well as planes in motion (The Breakthrough). This box-shaped extractor will be
raised about 1,000 feet high. It will be lined with liquid sodium hydroxide; when it is exposed,
the sodium hydroxide absorbs the carbon dioxide and when air flows through the leaves of the
tree the carbon dioxide will be blinded by the hydroxide and will come out cleaner. This
process causes the air to have around seventy to ninety percent less carbon dioxide than the
carbon-concentrated air on the other side. If ten million of these synthetic trees were produced, it
is estimated to remove about twelve percent of the carbon dioxide that humans are responsible
for each year (Yale Climate Connections). Scientists say that about sixty million of these
synthetic trees will be needed to offset the damage we have done; however, the sooner we begin
to fund this project, the sooner we will be able to start helping our atmosphere, and ultimately
start to reverse the effects of global warming (Saving Planet Earth). Taking the carbon
emissions out of the atmosphere will help prevent the worsening of global warming; however if
we are also able to get ahead of the problem by lessening the amount of carbon we put into our
atmosphere, then we will be able to make astronomical changes to global warming.
Automobiles produce around twenty-four pounds of carbon dioxide per gallon everyday,
which accounts for almost thirty percent of the United States greenhouse gas emissions. The
amount of carbon dioxide emitted by these vehicles that goes into our atmosphere comes from
the extraction, production, and the delivery of the fuel, amounting to about five pounds; the
larger portion of carbon dioxide comes from the nineteen pounds emitted only from the cars
tailpipe. A regular car emits about 4.7 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, while an electric
vehicle does not burn any gasoline, and has no tailpipe emissions (Environmental Protection
Agency). Alternatively, fuels made from cellulosic biofuels can reduce greenhouse gas
emissions by eighty percent (Union Concerned Scientists). While the Global Warming Act

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will implement a program that shows promise to help offset damage we have done, it will also
mandate changes to the fuel we use and would have a significant impact on how much carbon
our vehicles emit into our atmosphere. Global warming is a highly debated issue that scientists
and individuals in politics do not find full agreement on; although there is extensive proof to
global climate change, others argue it is only a natural global fluctuation
Earths climate has always cooled and warmed, the rise in global temperature is within
range of the natural temperature fluctuations over the past 3,000 years. Some records reveal that
the 20th century is probably not the warmest or uniquely extreme climatic period in the last
millennium. Thousands of scientists have disagreed on whether or not humans are primarily
responsible for climate change globally (Climate Change Debate). In 2012, there was a study
that found that climate changes post 1850 may not be influenced by human behavior, but that the
warming and global climates changes are instead associated with multiple solar cycles
(Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics). The suns solar force is a reason for the warming
and cooling of earth; over the past 10,000 years, solar minima have been accompanied by sharp
climate changes. There is evidence from that suggests Earths currently warmer temperature is
temporary, and will begin to enter into a cooling off period over the decades to come. Our planet
goes through a natural cycle of warming and cooling, regardless of human behavior. Some
would argue that the human generated greenhouse gas emissions are not big enough to influence
global warming (Explore Pros & Cons). However, there is no denying that the climate
changes have fluctuated larger than the warming and cooling period in decades past.
The global climate has been changing over the last few decades and scientists agree that
we must do something to prevent it from getting worse. Wild life has been endangered by it,
rising sea levels could change the coast lines of many countries, droughts and floods will

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continue to worsen, as well as more strong storms that may cause more damage than we can
prepare for. The Global Warming Act is necessary to ensure the safety of the countries of this
world going into the future. We have an opportunity to reverse the damage that we have been
doing as people since we began our excessive use of burning fossil fuels for energy and fuel.
Change is necessary and within our reach, all we must do is implement these changes as soon as
possible.